Spinners win India another three-day home Test

It was like Test cricket had gone asleep for one hour on the third morning before India lost eight wickets for 39 runs, and yet spun South Africa out to take a 1-0 lead

Ravindra Jadeja's five-for hands India the first Test

Ravindra Jadeja made the most of a spinner-friendly surface to claim five wickets and bundle South Africa out for just 109 runs to hand India a 108-run win in the first Test in Mohali on Saturday.

Refreshed Jadeja rediscovers his mojo

Top fitness, a bit of batting, sharpness in the field, and deadly accuracy when bowling... that has been Ravindra Jadeja's recipe for success in Test cricket previously, and it was on show once again in Mohali

Steyn doubtful for Bangalore Test

Dale Steyn is doubtful for the second Test against India in Bangalore after sustaining a groin strain which kept him out of action on day two in Mohali

Jadeja, Ashwin spin India to big win

'We have played spin relatively badly' - Kohli

India have won the first Test emphatically, but Virat Kohli, their captain, conceded that India's batsmen had been playing "relatively badly" recently

Spin 34, pace 6

Stats highlights from the third day of the first Test between India and South Africa, in Mohali

SA feared the worst, they got the worst

The visitors had been wary of the Mohali pitch well before the match even began and that played as much or a greater part in the unravelling

Wrong decisions from batsmen cost South Africa - Amla

It was not the surface or the spin but errors in decision-making and incorrect execution which, Hashim Amla explained, caused his first defeat as Test captain

India lead by 142 after Ashwin's five-for

R Ashwin took his 13th five-wicket haul, and his 150th Test wicket as well, as South Africa were bowled out for 184 and India built their lead to 142 by the end of the day with Cheteshwar Pujara's half-century

Blame the batting, not pitch, says Ashwin

R Ashwin has hit back at the criticism of the pitch in Mohali, which South Africa batsman Dean Elgar had described as "not a very good cricket wicket" after 12 wickets had fallen on the first day

Ashwin's presence breeds India's belief

India's batsmen squandered the advantage of batting first on the opening day but R Ashwin was around to pick up the ball on the second day

Groin strain puts Steyn's Test under cloud

Dale Steyn could spend the rest of the Mohali Test as a spectator after picking up a groin strain in the field on the second day

India consolidate lead after Ashwin five-for

R Ashwin hands India the advantage in first Test

R Ashwin's five-wicket haul helped India dismiss South Africa for just 184, in their first innings, to hand the hosts a slender 17-run lead in the first Test being played in Mohali on Friday.

South Africa's road warriors hit speed bump

In the last nine years, South Africa have been able to find a way when all roads seemed closed. But on the second day in Mohali, they hit a speed bump that has grown into something far more sizable

Ashwin becomes fastest Indian to 150 Test wickets

Stats highlights from the second day's play in Mohali where R Ashwin took yet another five-wicket haul.

SA under pressure by spin after India 201

On a pitch that looked more like it was four days old, India crumbled to 201 all out thanks to Dean Elgar's part-time spin. But the hosts' own spinners had a strong say in the final moments of the day to keep the Mohali Test even

Not a good cricket wicket - Elgar

South Africa's Dean Elgar has voiced his displeasure with what he believed was a "result wicket" in Mohali

Elgar's drift spins a web around India

He wasn't expected to be a main man of South Africa's bowling attack but Dean Elgar reaped rewards for paying attention to flight and drift on the first day in Mohali

India need not be adamant to play five bowlers

India looked a batsman short on a track on which they might not need the extra bowler, and the batsmen playing the match weren't exactly up to scratch either

India's day-one woes against South Africa

Stats highlights from the Test between India and South Africa in Mohali where 12 wickets fell on the first day.

Dean Elgar puts South Africa in command on day one

Dean Elgar, better known for his batting exploits, starred with the ball - by picking up four wickets - for South Africa in the first Test against India being played in Mohali on Thursday.

India hit back after being bowled out for 201

India's reserve players released to play in Ranji Trophy

Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Stuart Binny have been released by the Indian team management, and will turn up for their respective Ranji Trophy sides in the round starting on November 7

Learning the sounds of Indian cricket in Mohali

ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent gets caught up in the chanting of a rather sparsely populated PCA Stadium on her first time covering Test cricket in India

Spin it to win it

Tests where spinners took the most wickets

Kumble impressed with bowlers' relentless pursuit

India's coach is happy with the way his bowlers managed their workloads in back-to-back Tests

Sound judgment key to tackle spin - Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara's ability to tackle spin on rank turners has come in for a lot of praise. The No. 3 batsman says his success stems from the confidence of scoring big runs in domestic cricket

Why Ashwin could be exceptional for India

He is unlike his spin predecessors in a few ways, and though he hasn't impressed overseas, that seems likely to change

Neither a bad pitch nor a good one

Batsmen from both sides made a turning Mohali surface look worse than it actually was, but the cricket it produced was one-dimensional. A series of this stature deserves a greater variety of skills to be on display

India's rule of three

Ashwin, Jadeja and Mishra's performance in Mohali took you back to the heady days of the sixties, seventies, and some of eighties

A trial by pace, a test of patience

South Africa's success in India over the years has been built on getting the basics right - seamers attacking the stumps, and batsmen biding their time at the crease

Duminy's unavailability changes team dynamics - Amla

The rumours of raging turners in the Tests against India have not got South Africa in a strategic spin just yet, as they plan to start things off by sticking to their traditional strengths.

Four-bowler strategy 'highly unlikely' - Kohli

A day after Ravi Shastri said that, given the conditions, India may not be averse to a six-batsman line-up, Test captain Virat Kohli has said that playing fewer than five bowlers is highly unlikely.